Revere City Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Supporting Legislation To Modernize Student Transportation

Resolution Supports MA FASST Coalition Efforts to Lower School Transportation Costs and Address Vendor Shortages

REVERE, MA — The Revere City Council voted unanimously on Monday, July 27 to pass a resolution supporting the MA Friends of Affordable Safe Student Transportation Coalition (MA FASST), endorsing House Bill 3772 (filed by Representative Jeffrey Roy, Franklin) and Senate Bill 3021 (filed by Senator Brendan Crighton, Lynn). The resolution urges the Massachusetts Legislature to swiftly pass legislation that will provide immediate operational and financial relief to municipalities, especially for those with special education students and students experiencing homelessness.

The Council’s resolution highlights the soaring cost of specialized transportation, pointing to recent findings from the state Office of the Inspector General that identified barriers to market competition, including outdated mandates for permanent vehicle modifications that restrict the pool of available vendors, increasing costs and district deficits across the state, specifically under Massachusetts General Law Chapter 90, Section 7D rules.

The proposed bills, H.3772 and S.3021, update Section 7D regulations for post-2018 vehicles by replacing permanent vehicle requirements with more options while strengthening applicable safety standards under existing law.

“We all have seen the impact with the cost of transportation over the last few years,” Revere City Councillor Marc Silvestri said during the meeting. “It would help save a lot of money for our special needs transportation, so this is something that we would support.”

State Senator Lydia Edwards, Third Suffolk District, a Senate supporter of the legislation, voiced support for the effort. “Modernizing our student transportation rules is a win-win for our communities,” said Senator Edwards. “It maintains the highest safety standards for our students while delivering meaningful fiscal relief to Revere and school districts across the Commonwealth.”

“Every student deserves safe, reliable transportation to and from school, and our communities deserve policies that make providing that service more affordable. This legislation is a practical, commonsense update that maintains strong safety standards while helping school districts reduce costs, increase competition among transportation providers, and better serve students with specialized transportation needs,” said State Representative Jessica Giannino, 16th Suffolk District. “I appreciate the Revere City Council for unanimously supporting this important effort, and I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the Legislature to move these reforms forward.”

By passing this resolution, Revere joins a growing group of Massachusetts communities advocating for commonsense reforms to lower transportation costs while maintaining safe student transportation. This comes as Attorney General Andrea J. Campbell’s office announced a $2.4 million settlement with a school busing company for illegally colluding and inflating special education transportation prices in several school districts. By replacing outdated vehicle mandates that restrict market entry, H.3772 and S.3021 would advance essential good-government principles, opening the market to more vendors, increasing competitive bidding, and protecting taxpayer dollars from predatory pricing.